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Message:: [QUOTE="Orielensis, post: 3498305, member: 96898"]The Friesach pfennig is an enormously complex topic and a collecting area of its own. Specialist collectors and experts will thus excuse the brevity of this write-up. It is meant to give a brief outline and thus is necessarily reductive in nature. What: “Friesach pfennig,” “Friesach penny,” denarius frisacensis Who, where, when: First minted for the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg and the Counts of Carinthia  at Friesach (today in Austria), ca. in the late 1120s. Soon imitated at different mints by a number of other regional authorities, including but not limited to the Bishops of Bamberg, the Counts of Gorizia, the House of Andechs-Merania, and the Patriarchs of Aquileia. The production of the coin type at Friesach ended in the mid-14th century. Design: ‘Friesach pfennig’ is a numismatic umbrella term for a class of small silver coins of primarily Austrian origin that circulated mainly in the Alpe-Adria region in the mid-12th to early 14th centuries. The term is somewhat misleading: not all Friesach pfennige were actually struck at Friesach. Hundreds of types from over twenty mints are recorded and show various designs. I am thus limiting this write-up to a selection of commonly encountered types. While most Friesach pfennige look somewhat similar to the examples shown below, there are numerous outliers. For example, some late coins (e.g. CNA, Cb87–118) resemble the design of Vienna pfennige, others show e.g. heraldic animals instead of a human figure on the obverse. In order to dive more deeply into the matter, you’d have to consult the respective catalogue (all details below). Early pfennige minted for the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg usually show a bishop holding a crosier and a book on the obverse. The issues of the Bishops of Bamberg, the Patriarchs of Aquileia, and some other issuers mostly imitate this design closely but add their own legends. Probably most common (and, in my eyes, most desirable) is the ERIACENSIS-type minted for Adalbert III, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg 1168–1172 and 1183–1200: [ATTACH=full]926935[/ATTACH] Adalbert III of Bohemia, Prince–Archbishopric of Salzburg, Friesach pfennig, ca. 1170–1200 AD, Friesach mint. Obv: E[R]IAC[EN]SIS (retrograde), bishop standing facing, holding crosier and book. Rev: church building with two towers, cross above pediment, four ringlets (windows?) below. 19mm, 0.97g. Ref: CNA, Ca9. Architectural elements tend to dominate the reverse, especially but not only of episcopal issues. See for example this coin of Prince-Archbishop Eberhard II (r. 1200–1246): [ATTACH=full]926936[/ATTACH]Eberhard II, Prince–Archbishopric of Salzburg, Friesach pfennig, ca. 1220–1230 AD, Pettau (Ptuj) mint. Obv: [E]B[E]RHAR[DS EPS], bishop standing facing, holding lily sceptre in each hand. Rev: portrait of bishop between two towers, crosses above pediments. 15mm, 0.83g. Ref: CNA, Cg1. More creative reverses exist, too, such as this combination of bishop’s heads and stars on another coin of Eberhard II: [ATTACH=full]926937[/ATTACH] Eberhard II, Prince–Archbishopric of Salzburg, Friesach pfennig, 1200–1246 AD, Friesach mint. Obv: + [EBERHAR]DS EPS, bishop standing facing, holding crosier and book. Rev: two bishop's heads and two stars in a cross arrangement. 18mm, 0.66g. Ref: CNA, Ca12. Although many different obverse types exist, most secular coins somewhat follow the Salzburg model by showing a bust portrait or full figure representing the respective ruler on the obverse. Instead of the episcopal insignia, this figure usually carries a sword, wears armour, and often holds a shield, banner, cross, or similar item. There really is no rule of thumb for the reverses of secular issues. The image below (courtesy of [USER=42634]@chrsmat71[/USER]) gives an example. [ATTACH=full]926938[/ATTACH]Bernhard of Spanheim, Duchy of Carinthia, Friesach pfennig, 1202–1256 AD, St. Veit mint. Obv: DUX BERNARDVS or similar, duke standing facing holding cross and flag. Reverse: Paschal lamb r. Ref: CNA, Cb16. The weight of the Friesach pfennige varies greatly and declines over time. The earliest issues tend to weigh between 0.9 and 1.3g, while 14th century examples often have less than 0.5g. Half-pfennige (Hälblinge) exist, and it can be difficult to distinguish them from underweight pfennige. Especially the early types are struck from very good metal, often containing more than 90% silver. Many Friesach pfennige are produced using the four-stroke-method (Vierschlag), heavily impacting their appearance. Historical background: In the High and Late Middle Ages, the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg, the main issuer of the Friesach pfennige, was not just an ecclesiastical institution but also a more or less self-governed principality of the Holy Roman Empire. The Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg held large territories in what today is Austria, Slovenia, and Bavaria. Most other issuers of this coin type, in particular the Dukes of Carinthia, the Bishops of Bamberg, and the Patriarchs of Aquileia, enjoyed a similar status: they ruled as ‘almost sovereign’ princes within the feudal system of the empire, subject only to the (usually absent) emperor. This initial remark is important in order to understand the history of the Friesach pfennig, which was first minted in the late 1120s by the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg and the Dukes of Carinthia. The earliest and most important mint was located at Friesach in Carinthia, close to the rich silver mines at Zeltschach. It has often been assumed (e.g. Koch in CNA I, p.110) that the widespread Cologne pfennig served as a model for the Friesach pfennig. This still appears likely, although modern scholarship (e.g. Alram, in Härtel/Wenninger 1996) has convincingly argued that the early Friesach pfennige were minted to an independent standard in between those of the Regensburg and the Cologne pfennig. The Friesach pfennig served primarily as a trade currency and as such closed an important economic gap: the large and politically diverse Alpe-Adria region saw a lot of trade but lacked reliable local money. Hence it doesn’t startle that the Friesach pfennige circulated not only in Austria but also in what now is northern Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia. Nor is it surprising that many regional authorities soon jumped on the bandwagon and minted their own versions or imitations of the Friesach pfennig. The contemporary term frisacensis moneta was used to refer to all of these issues and not just coins from the Friesach mint. [ATTACH=full]926939[/ATTACH] The area of circulation of the Friesach pfennige on a modern map The ERIACENSIS-issue (see image above) minted for Prince-Archbishop Adalbert III (r. 1168–1172, 1183–1200), a son of the Bohemian king Vladislaus I and a quarrelsome frenemy of the emperor Frederick Barbarossa, is probably most iconic and served as a model for many later issues. Under his successor, Prince-Archbishop Eberhard II (r. 1200–1246), the Friesach pfennig reached its pinnacle as the dominant trade coin of southeastern Europe. [ATTACH=full]926944[/ATTACH]Eberhard II, Prince–Archbishopric of Salzburg, Friesach pfennig, 1200–1246 AD, Friesach mint. Obv: Legend (EBERHARDS EPS or similar) obscured by Vierschlag, bishop standing facing, holding sword and cross. Rev: bishop's head between two towers; behind, cornice with two smaller towers. 17mm, 1.25g. Ref: CNA, Ca19. Eberhard was a strident political heavyweight in the Holy Roman Empire, strongly involved in the conflict between the rivaling imperial houses Hohenstaufen and Welf, and eventually even excommunicated for supporting emperor Frederick II against the will of the papacy. The enormous amount of silver trade coinage that his mints produced also constituted an instrument of power in these strifes. The 14th century saw drastic economical and political changes (as well as the bubonic plague), the Carinthian silver deposits were increasingly depleted, and House Habsburg, following different currency policies, took over Carinthia and Carniola in 1335. As a side effect of these developments, the Friesach pfennig was superseded by other coin types. The Friesach mint closed around 1350. Reference works: The standard reference work for Austrian medieval coins is the voluminous and incredibly erudite Bernhard Koch: Corpus Nummorum Austriacorum (CNA), volume 1: Mittelalter, Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum 1994 (in German, with plates). Due to the great and confusing variety of Austrian medieval coinage, collectors in this field simply need this book. Unfortunately, it is long out of print and used copies currently cost about as much as an archaic Athenian tetradrachm. If there ever is a new and affordable edition, many collectors, including myself, will shed tears of joy. Until then, a local or institutional library might help, and possibly you could even consider copying the sections you need… If you can’t get the CNA, the (dated) article by Arnold Luschin von Ebengreuth: Die Friesacher Pfennige: Beiträge zu ihrer Münzgeschichte und zur Kenntnis ihrer Gepräge (1922) might provide some orientation and can be found online <a href="https://de.scribd.com/document/80777760/Friesacher-Pfennige-Beitrage-zur-ihrer-Munzgeschichte-und-zur-Kenntnis-ihrer-Geprage-I-Arnold-Luschin-Ebengreuth" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://de.scribd.com/document/80777760/Friesacher-Pfennige-Beitrage-zur-ihrer-Munzgeschichte-und-zur-Kenntnis-ihrer-Geprage-I-Arnold-Luschin-Ebengreuth" rel="nofollow">here</a>. There is a large body of scholarly literature on the Friesach pfennig. Almost all of it is in German. I’d particularly highlight the collection of essays in R. Härtel, M. J. Wenninger (ed.): Die Friesacher Münze im Alpen-Adria-Raum / La moneta frisacense nell’ Alpe Adria, Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1996 (in German and Italian). A list of other titles can be found <a href="http://opac.regesta-imperii.de/lang_en/suche.php?qs=friesach*+pfen*." target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://opac.regesta-imperii.de/lang_en/suche.php?qs=friesach*+pfen*." rel="nofollow">here</a>. Rarity and value: There are both common and rare types, and prices vary accordingly. Common Friesach pennies in collectible condition, for example the important ERIACENSIS issue, may start as low as $20. In this price range, you’ll have to decide whether you want a weakly struck obverse or a weakly struck reverse. Since only few coins are nice on both sides, these usually command a hefty premium. Due to the catalogue situation described above, some dealers don’t bother to attribute Friesach pennies individually. Thus, bargains can often be found in pick bins or larger lots.[/QUOTE]

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